


rock n rule

by orphan_account



Category: Original Work
Genre: 1980s, Dark, Demon, Demons, F/M, Music, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Originally Posted on deviantART, Religious Content, Rock and Roll, Slow Burn, demon-summoning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-17 02:48:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14178870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Ana always wanted to be famous, but not like this.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An original piece of work written by yours truly, starring Kosperry's characters from their art, the Seven Stevens. 
> 
> http://blueberryjellyontoastplease.tumblr.com/

Heart pounding.

Lungs stinging.

Legs burning.

But she couldn’t stop running.

There was light up ahead. Once she made it, everything would be okay. She could finally rest easy. But they were close behind her, breathing down her neck. Her skin stood on edge. They were laughing, vile and condescending, as they closed in. Hands were on her shoulders. It didn’t matter. She could run. Just a little further, she whispered between pants. It was too late. With one yank they pulled her down into the dark abyss. Her own screaming echoed in her ears, skin burning as invisible flames engulfed her. The light got farther and farther away. It completely disappeared from sight.

~

Ana woke up with fervor. She kicked the sheets off her legs, ready to pounce out of bed and escape. Her skin was clammy from sweat. She shot up from her bed, wild and scared, searching for something—or someone—to be staring back at her. But there wasn’t. She was alone, in her bedroom. The only light was the dim glow of the alarm clock.

On shaking legs, she got up.

She could still feel phantom hands on her shoulders, gripping onto her, pulling her down into a pit of madness. It was just a dream, though, just paranoia; just a dream. Her head was pounding. She went to the bathroom, turned on the light and winced. It was too bright in there.She pushed through and turned on the sink, cupping her hands under the cool tap water, and took a sip.

Ever since she was little it was the same; running towards something to escape someone, only to be caught in the end. Every time she’d wake up screaming, with an awful headache. Ana stared into the mirror and frowned; clad in her underwear, wild hair and bloodshot eyes, she was an adult now. She’d be twenty two this year. “You scaredy cat,” Ana cursed, “You should’ve grown out of these already.” Another throb to the skull made Ana hiss through her teeth. Maybe an aspirin was in order. Those always helped, and they were right there in the medicine cabinet. Then, she could lie back down and try to go to sleep.

All of this would be forgotten in the morning. It was hard to grab the bottle because of how her fingers twitched. She dropped it immediately, and Aspirin exploded all over the counter. “Shit, shit, shit!” Ana muttered, she got on her knees to clean up the mess. They were everywhere—under the sink, between the cabinets—and during her search, a thought came crashing down onto her; Should I tell Mom and Dad? As a kid, her parents used to say; “Always tells us when you have these dreams, dear. They’re very important.” Or, “Always tells us when you get these headaches, dear. They’re very important.”

Every time she told them, they’d move. She never really thought about it before, but after the third or fourth house, Ana could see the connection. Hell, she’d started keeping her things packed to save energy at one point! But, but, but—that ended years ago. They hadn’t moved in so long, tonight had been the first time in years she’d had that dream, and they made that rule when she was still a kid, so did that rule apply now? Would they have to move again, after living here for so long? Ana shook her head. Sitting on the floor at some ungodly hour was not the time to think about this. Now was the time to go back to bed, sleep on it, and then decide in the morning.

When she stood back up, she saw a figure in the mirror. Her heart started to pound again. She felt her legs threatening to give out underneath her, too tired to run, nowhere to go—oh no, oh no, oh no no no no no— She whipped around to see who or what it was. It was just her mom, wrapped up in her a bathrobe. Ana clutched her chest and sighed in relief; God, they really had to get a bell for this woman! “How… How long have you been standing there?” She asked, her mom chuckled, “Long enough, I guess.” Her mom took a step forwards, tentatively, and reached out for Ana; “Did you have that dream again?” She asked, Ana nodded solemnly. Her mom started to chew her bottom lip.

She ran a hand through her messy hair and sighed, “Go get your stuff, honey.” She said, “I’ll wake up dad and we’ll leave tonight.” She leaned in to kiss Ana’s forehead, but Ana pulled back. Her mom chortled. “It’s alright. It’s just me, nothing to be scared of.”

Ana was twenty two years old and she was clinging to her mom like a toddler, crying over a nightmare.


	2. Chapter 2

The new house was nice, Ana guessed.

It was near the beach so, that was a plus.

It also came with its own washer and dryer so they wouldn’t have to go to the dry cleaners, another plus. It had four rooms, two bathrooms, and the outside was painted robin egg blue—a nice color, as far as she was concerned. The only problem?

They were borrowing it-- from Aunt Sherrie.

And there was nothing wrong with Aunt Sherrie! Ana loved her to death-- and loved her little poodle, too-- she could just be a lot at times. Like how they’d only been there a few hours and she was already insisting they have a party. “Oh, it’ll be great!” Aunt Sherrie cheered as she sat down on the bed, “You’ll meet tons of people your age, and boys too! Doesn’t that sound nice?” Ana heaved another box into her closet, grunting. “I mean, it doesn’t sound bad, I was just kinda hoping we could get settled in first before we did anything big, y’know?”

Aunt Sherrie clicked her tongue. “You’re no fun.”

In one great, frivolous movement, she stood up from the bed and left. Ana could hear her sing “Penny, dear, your daughter wants to have a party!” down the hall, she rolled her eyes. That woman would say anything to get her way. Therewas one last box in her room, but she didn’t recognize it. It was small, square, and crudely wrapped in newspaper comics.

When Ana picked it up, it was very light. On the front, someone had written To My Nightingale in shaky sharpie. She felt her chest tighten. She traced her fingers over the package tentatively. It must’ve been old. Her parents must’ve put it in here on purpose, as a gift. But why here, why now? She was just about to open it when Penny called. “Ana, come here, we’re having a party tonight and your auntie wants to get you a new outfit!” Ana cursed and shoved the present under her mattress—it would have to wait for another time.

“Coming, Mom!” With one last glance over her shoulder, Ana turned the light out and rushed down the hall.

 

~

The house was empty.

                It was right where the computer said it would be; 21872 Orchard Drive, Lincoln.

It looked just like Junior had described it; a green home nestled between two huge oak trees that were impossible to miss, with a beautifully kept yard. There was a small garden in the back. Everything was as it should be.

                _Except_ \-- the house was empty.

                “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Junior cried as they got back in the car, “I swear she was here! I saw the girl you described from your dream—I don’t know what happened, I honestly don’t—”

                Ava glared at Junior. He whimpered.

                “Bullshit,” Ava growled, “Complete and utter _bullshit._ You’ve been saying this for years now. Saying you saw the girl, only to have her disappear from sight. Do you know how close we were?” Junior shook his head. Tears stung his eyes, but he refused to cry. He shuttered when Ava stepped closer, slowly, menacingly. “I could’ve had her, Junior. I could’ve swept her away and finally, _finally,_ accomplished everything I ever wanted—”

                “I thought you promised we’d do this together.”

                Ava paused. There was a heavy silence between them. They reached out to cup Junior’s cheek in their hand, tracing small circles with their thumb against his skin. Junior shuttered. “Oh, Junior,” They cooed, leaning in close— _so close_ Junior could feel their lips brush. His head was fuzzy with the sweet scent of Ava, surrounding him, enveloping him in their sweet embrace. Ava muttered something against his lips. 

“Wha- What?” Junior sputtered. He whimpered when Ava pulled away from him, craving their touch.

Junior felt a pit in his stomach when Ava smiled. “I _said,”_ They tightened their hold on Junior’s head, “That was when you were _useful.”_

A searing pain rushed through Junior’s scalp. It was like burning from the inside out. He screamed and kicked, begging for it to stop. Everything was spinning. He couldn’t see straight. There was nothing but white-hot pain, a sudden shock, and then---

Junior fell limp in Ava’s arms. For a moment they felt a pang of regret but pushed it aside. Ava opened the limousine door and pushed Junior out, he rolled away. They shut the door and pulled out a cigarette. 

The computer let out a small beeping noise. “No destination input. Where are we going, Avaritia?”

Ava took a drag. “Where haven’t we been?”

The computer hummed softly. It processed all the places they’d traveled onto a screen, ranging from one side of the country to the other, and then said; “California, Avaritia.”

“Well then, I guess we’re headed to California.”


	3. Chapter 3

And

she

couldn’t

see

a thing.

Ana was blindly clawing at her eyes—or where she thought they were—through the pitch black darkness. Her nails pierced her skin, leaving a sting in their wake, she cried out. It echoed back at her, a high-pitch sound of desperation and pain. The air was stale and molding.

But she still couldn’t see. Every other sensation in her body seemed to be heightened, she could feel the vibrations in the air radiating off her skin, the sweat dripping down her back. Where even was she? Was she inside or outside, was it day or night? She couldn’t tell. She pressed into her eye socket and felt nothing.

Then, there were footsteps.

They were everywhere, but distant. She wanted to call out to them, to ask what was happening, but she couldn’t. There was a cold pit in her stomach—fear, apprehension, anticipation—it kept her from talking, formed a lump in her throat so the words couldn’t come out. She started to walk away from the sound.

Then, they followed her. Ana walked faster, they walked faster.

Ana started to run.

They started to run.

Aimlessly running in the dark, screaming without any care, hearing the footsteps all around her and yet so far away.

There was a hand drifting over her shoulder, reaching out to her. They leaned up to her ear and whispered;

“Ana.”

~

“You can’t nap! There’s still so much to be done!” Aunt Sherrie was banging her fist on the side of the table when Ana finally woke up, her head laid down, cushioned by her jacket. Thank God, it was just a dream. “C’mon now, you’ve been dragging me around all day,” Ana griped “I’m pooped.”, She lifted her head a little to look up at Aunt Sherrie, who stared back contemptuously. Her face was beet red, probably from rushing from the cashier to the table, and her hair was all a mess.

Sherrie pursed her lips. “Oh darling, you can rest when you’re dead.” She slid into the booth across from Ana, pulling out a notepad and a pen. Sherrie cleared her throat. “Besides, we still have two more stops before we can head home. Lots of people to invite, you know.”

Of course, we do, Ana thought as we’ve only invited half the state, after all. She grabbed her drink from across the table, stirring with her straw, “Who’s next on the list?” Ana asked, exasperatedly. Aunt Sherrie shot her a glare, a warning to watch her tone, and sipped her coffee. “We still have to invite some friends for you. I don’t want you hanging out with grown-ups the whole time, you know.”

“I’m 25, Auntie.” Said Ana,

“All the more reason, honey!” Sherrie declared, throwing her arms up in the air to make her point clear. “You’re young, darling, you should be out and about with people your age! Or, at least younger than your parents and I. Don’t you think?”

Ana nodded her head. There wasn’t any arguing with Aunt Sherrie.

“Good,” Sherrie said, she scribbled something down on her notepad, “Our next stop is the Pyreras. I’m sure you’ll love them, they’re really nice once you get to know them. Be careful around Daray, though. He hasn’t been the same since his wife.” 

Ana sipped her lemonade. The tartness made her nose crinkle. “What happened to his wife?” She asked. “Died giving birth to her youngest, I’m afraid.” Sherrie sighed, shaking her head sadly. “A lovely woman she was, too. Always a darling to have at parties.”

There was a moment of tense silence before Ana changed the subject. “Is there anyone else, Auntie?” Sherrie gazed over her notepad again, squinting her eyes to see better, and then gasped. “Oh, I almost forgot; our last neighbors, the Stevens.”

Ana blinked a few times. Why did those names sound so familiar?

“You all used to play together when you were a baby,” Sherrie explained, “You were the best of friends.”

Oh. So that’s why.

Aunt Sherrie stood up from the table. She dusted herself off, despite nothing being on her, and huffed. “We should probably get this done quickly. I have a little puppy at home I just got to get back to! Come along now, Ana!” 

She was already halfway out the door by the time Ana caught up with her. She tugged on Sherrie’s sleeve and whispered, “Shouldn’t we go back and pay for our stuff?” Aunt Sherrie laughed. “Ana, this is California. The sooner you learn that, the better.”

Aunt Sherrie sauntered off without another word. Ana, who was still very confused but in no place to contradict her, quickly followed.

~

Eversion – the act of turning inside out

Fin was hiding again. Beneath the floorboards of the kitchen, he could feel his own heartbeat against his ribcage. How long had he’d been under there? Hours? Minutes? Surely Father would’ve come looking for him by now, hunting for him—

in a philosophical sense; to tilt the soul away from the median plane.

His own breathing was too loud. He wished he could calm down. His fingers scraped against the molding, wooden planks above him. Fin could barely see anything through the small streaks of light between the floorboards, so he listened instead to the sounds of heavy footsteps or a creaking door.

Fin read Father’s workbook. He knew he shouldn’t have, but he was so curious as to how he saw Fin’s progress. He thought, ‘One little look won’t hurt, right?’, and so he slipped into Father’s study while he was busy in the dungeons and took a peek.

He wished he hadn’t. There were horrible things in there—things that no normal person would be able to think up—but one of the worst things was Father’s new interest in teaching Fin how to harness one of his newer powers.

Eversion -- the act of turning inside out. Fin almost puked.

Suddenly, a door swung open. Fin covered his mouth to keep from gasping. There were one, two, three, four pairs of feet stomping across the floor, making dust and dirt fall through the cracks like snowflakes. He tried not sneeze. “He must’ve gone to the city!” Came Dep’s muffled voice, “Yeah, yeah! He likes to hide there when he’s being a little baby!” Cap said enthusiastically.

Fin scoffed.

Father shouted, “Silence! I heard something.”

Fin bit his tongue. Father’s heavy but calculated footsteps creaked against the floor, inching closer and closer. Fin’s heartbeat rang in his ears like a drumbeat, sweat dripping down his hair and into his eyes. He held his breath when Father leaned down and peered between the floorboards—

“This is a waste of my time.” Revo griped. Father stood back up immediately and for once, Fin thanked Revo for existing. “Well, what do you think we should do?” Dep spat, Revo sighed. “Perhaps we should actually try looking for him, hmm?”

“Enough!” Father bellowed, and silence fell over the room once again. “There’s not many places he can hide. We’ll look for him in the city.” He said. Everyone walked out of the room, but Fin didn’t dare move or even breathe until he heard the front door slam shut. Then, he lifted the floorboards and crawled back out into the kitchen. He tried to take a deep breath but coughed violently. He had to remember to dust under there.

~

Fin was reading in the living room when he heard a knock at the door. At first, he jumped up from the couch, ready to flee to the nearest hiding place, thinking it was his family back from the city. But that was ridiculous because they wouldn’t have knocked. They would’ve barged right in. So, that left him with the question—

Who was at the door?

He walked towards it cautiously. There were two people on the other side, he could hear them chattering, and from the sounds of it, they seemed to be very impatient. Fin was tempted to just walk away, but then they knocked again. Oh, so they’re insistent too. He thought, Oh, joy.

Slowly, Fin opened the door. There were two women standing in front of him, one with her back turned and chastising the second one. Fin cleared his throat.

Suddenly, they both turned to look at him. One was a short, red-haired woman, clad in a fur jacket and floral dress. The other was taller, brown-skinned woman. They stared at each other blankly until the shorter woman jumped up and locked Fin in her strong, chubby arms, squealing; “Oh Cap, you sweet boy! Look how big you’ve gotten! It’s so wonderful to see you again!”

Fin struggled to get free as the woman continued her bear hug. “I-I’m… not Cap, ma’am…” He sputtered. The woman let go immediately, and Fin almost fell over at the sudden rush of air in his lungs. He clung to the doorframe for balance.

“Oh, but you look so much like him!” She gushed, putting her hands on his cheeks and inspecting his face, “You’re certainly not Dep, he looked too much like his daddy…” She seemed to trail off in thought, scrunching up her face to think. Then, she smiled and gasped; “You’re the baby, aren’t you dear?”

Fin nodded. He wasn’t sure what else to do. “Oh, how wonderful! I never got to meet you, y’know. But I knew your mama! She was as sweet as pie. She used to come over for supper when she was pregnant with you, did you know that?” The woman cooed, pulling on Fin’s cheeks. He winced.

“Oh! Gosh, I almost forgot! You have no idea who I am, do you?” The woman finally let go and Fin was overjoyed at the relief he felt in his cheeks. The woman curtsied. “I’m Sherrie Wilson, but feel free to call me Aunt Sherrie!”

Sherrie turned to the woman who’d been idly standing by this whole time and pushed her forward, “And this is my niece, Anabelle! She likes to go Ana. She just moved in a few houses down.”

Ana smiled meekly. “Nice to meet you.”

Fin thought he felt his heart flutter. “Y-yes, it’s nice to meet you, too.”

Just as Ana went to say something else, Sherrie jumped in between them again. “Now then! On with business, we’re having a little housewarming party for my sweet little Ana here and her parents tonight!” She clapped her hands excitedly, “It would be wonderful if you and your family could come! I haven’t seen Daray or the boys in such a long time. Here, give them this card and tell them it’s from me!”

Sherrie dug around in her purse for a second, and then pulled out a brightly-colored invitation. She put in Fin’s hand carefully. “Your dad was always a stickler for written invitations. Heavens knows why!” She laughed heartily, and before Fin could say anything else, she turned and took Ana’s hand, heading back down to the sidewalk.

“See you soon, dear!” Sherrie called as they walked away. Ana waved goodbye and Fin waved back, waiting until they were completely out of sight to shut the door. Fin leaned against the wall and stared at the card in his hand. Now stood the question;

How was he supposed to convince Father to go to a party?

**Author's Note:**

> http://blueberryjellyontoastplease.tumblr.com/


End file.
